Sooners crush deflated Bears

Baylor star Perry ruled ineligible on game day.

Published 11:31 pm, Wednesday, March 9, 2011

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Baylor arrived at the Big 12 tournament desperate to catch a break. Instead, the Bears were broken before the games even started.

Just six hours after learning star freshman Perry Jones III had been ruled ineligible by the NCAA due to a pre-enrollment amateur violation, the Bears' dismal, ill-fated quest for an NCAA tournament berth came to an end with an 84-67 loss to Oklahoma.

Baylor coach Scott Drew and athletic director Ian McCaw blasted the timing and fairness of the NCAA's decision. Drew repeatedly praised the character of Jones and his mother — who allegedly accepted illegal loans from an AAU coach — and McCaw questioned why Jones' punishment was more severe than “other recent, widely discussed” cases.

“We'd like to think every student-athlete is treated fairly and consistently,” said McCaw, who added the school had been cooperating with the NCAA on the matter since December.

Jones, widely considered a likely Top 10 pick if he chooses to enter this summer's NBA draft, was a second-team all-Big 12 selection after averaging 13.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Baylor said Jones was declared ineligible because his mother received three 15-day loans from his AAU coach before he enrolled at the school. Jones had no knowledge of the loans, the statement said, and Baylor is appealing the ruling. The Bears are hoping Jones can play if they are invited to the National Invitation Tournament.

Baylor (18-13) already was facing a tough task in terms of climbing into NCAA tournament consideration this week, but the news of Jones' ineligibility made it almost impossible, Drew said.

“It's very difficult to motivate in a situation like that,” Drew said. “Kids aren't stupid.”

OU (14-17), led by 24 points from Cade Davis, advanced to play Texas in the quarterfinals today.

After advancing just one game short of the Final Four last March, then adding Jones in the offseason, Baylor was pegged as a top-15 team nationally and ranked as high as No. 9 in December. But the Bears never beat anyone who finished the regular season in the Top 25 and suffered several embarrassing losses on their way to their sixth losing Big 12 season in eight years under Drew.

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Guard LaceDarius Dunn and forward Quincy Acy, who led Baylor with 21 points and 15 rebounds Wednesday, said the team was clearly affected by losing Jones.

“But that didn't give us any reason not to go out there and lay it on the line,” Dunn said.